This study investigated the extent to which second language (L2) learners benefited from proactive form-focused instruction (FFI) targeting French grammatical gender attribution and the degree to which L2 learners' attention control and working memory predicted their learning gains. A total of 102 L2 learners received either proactive FFI…

This study investigated the effect of cloze item practice on reading comprehension, where cloze items were either created by humans, by machine using natural language processing techniques, or randomly. Participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk (N = 302) took a pre-test, read a text, and took part in one of five conditions, Do-Nothing, Re-Read,…

Researchers have raised questions regarding the connection between learner familiarity with computers and performance on computerized tests virtually since interest arose in studying the applicability of computers for assessment purposes. However, despite this longstanding attention, at present, there has been a surprising lack of research that…

Matched pairs of skilled and less skilled readers read aloud material in cloze procedure format and printed in geometric transformations. Skilled readers made greater use of grammatical and contextual information. The stability of differences suggests that differential utilization of syntactic and semantic cues contributes to differences in…

A study was conducted to evaluate the level of difficulty of textbooks (French and Sciences) written in French for use with sixth grade students. A cloze test was administered to a sample of sixth grade students in two francophone districts in the province of New Brunswick, Canada, and the Henry readability formula was applied to the same texts.…

Details a cross-cultural study of cloze procedure and comprehension conduced in Japan, Canada, Sweden, and the United States with 10- and 11-year-old children. Concludes that cloze procedure is a valid and reliable measure of certain aspects of reading comprehension in all the linguistic and cultural areas sampled. (FL)

A comparison of the French proficiency of bilingual and monolingual native English, Italian, or non-Romance language speaking eighth graders in an Ontario bilingual program found that the bilingual students generally performed better than monolingual students on cloze procedure tests and story telling tasks. (40 references) (Author/CB)

A study investigated the readability of current laws for Canadian francophones and anglophones. The 63 subjects were asked to read a variety of brief legal texts available in parallel styles in both languages and to answer questions about the texts' content. Subjects were also surveyed about their preference for a formal or vulgarized style of…

This study replicated Daneman and Carpenter's finding that the reading span test, as a measure of working memory storage and process functions, is predictive of performance on standard reading comprehension tests. It showed that reading span is related to the ability to draw inferences from, integrate, and encode text information. (Author/PN)

Describes task-based learning materials which involve learners of French or English as a second language in cooperative learning activities and encourage self-direction. Interaction occurs mainly around a computer keyboard where learners must use language to talk about language. (Author/CB)

The relationship between reading comprehension and the number and complexity of idea units in a text was examined. The results showed that readers using text-entailed recall strategies gained the most insight into the meaning of text and that recall ability is an important encoding strategy for gaining meaning. (JAZ)

A study was conducted using standard open-ended cloze testing to establish a criterion for the utility of content reading passages for students in grades four, seven, and ten in the subject areas of language arts and social studies. Passages were selected from books, novels, and textbooks required in these courses. It was found that most of the…

Eight learning disabled children participated in an integrated program of motor and cognitive tasks over a six-month period. Compared to eight control subjects, the treated group showed greater improvement on tests of motor and cognitive skills. A physical activity program can influence basic cognitive as well as motor skills. (Author/RD)

Some empirical data are presented concerning the use of cloze tests to measure children's proficiency in a bilingual educational program. The subjects were grade five students in their sixth year of a primary French immersion program. (Author/CFM)

A preliminary study of job-related communications skills in British Columbia sawmills investigated the extent of agreement between reading grade levels of written workplace materials and reading comprehension levels of employees expected to read them. In 1990, 227 employees in 8 sawmills were interviewed with a 52-item structured interview, a…